Messages from the Executive Vice President

Message Archive

Our Patient Safety Efforts

All of us at the UConn Health Center share a deep and abiding commitment to
patient safety. Many of you have shared your thoughts on this with me directly,
and I have seen others quietly demonstrate their commitment in everyday actions
and decisions.

Since 2009, the Health Center has intensified its focus on patient safety and
patient satisfaction, as seen in the creation of the Quality Department, the
establishment of groups such as All Hands on Deck, and concerted efforts to give
clinical managers the tools they need to address patient satisfaction issues. We
also recently formed alliances with national organizations such as the
American College of Surgeons’ National
Surgical Quality Improvement Program and the
Studer Group to advance our patient
safety and quality improvement goals and foster a culture to enhance patient
safety. We are also part of a statewide effort to promote patient safety.

These efforts, many of which began before my arrival, are exceptionally
important and I commend the leaders within the Health Center and our Board of
Directors for their steadfast commitment to quality.

However, we recently received some sobering news. The latest edition of
Consumer Reports ranks more than 1,100 hospitals in 44 states against six
patient-safety categories. According to their analysis, John Dempsey Hospital’s
performance was poor, a situation that is both unacceptable and personally
disappointing. Upon closer look, we are confident that if the report used more
recent data, our overall score would have improved. Importantly, all of the
areas identified as lagging in this report are, and have been, under close
scrutiny from clinical administration. Clear and direct strategies have been put
in place to address the deficiencies. Even so, we are redoubling our efforts
beginning immediately.

While some hospitals question the methodology, I applaud Consumer Reports for
drawing attention to the need to improve patient safety in our nation's
hospitals. We encourage patients to also look at the source data available
through the Connecticut Hospital Association
and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s
Hospital Compare website.

We know we can and must do much better. We will. Nothing is more important.